Paint roller cleaner and dryer



March 12, 1968 w. KATZELL 3,372,416

PAINT ROLLER CLEANER AND DRYER Filed Dec. 30, 1964 XIII INVENTOR.

\\ [Wu/4M 44972514 A rrmwsrs United States Patent ()flfice 3,372,416 PAINT ROLLER CLEANER AND DRYER William Katzell, 1612 102nd St., North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada Filed Dec. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 422,172 2 Claims. (Cl. 15-4) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A fluted roller is journaled for rotation within a trough formed with an arcuate bottom so as to contain a limited amount of cleaning fluid. When the roller to be cleaned is placed on the top of the fluted roller, rotation of the fluted roller will cause the paint roller to spin with the consequence that a limited amount of cleaning fluid is carried upwardly by the flutes of the fluted roller and then flung over the top of the trough by the paint roller. Continued spinning of the paint roller by the fluted roller will then cause the paint roller to be rapidly dried.

This invention relates generally to devices for cleaning paint rollers, and pertains more particularly to apparatus of this type having the capability of both quickly cleaning and fluff drying the roller.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a device that not only cleans the paint roller by spinning it while being subjected to a cleaning solution but automatically fluff dries the paint roller without having to shift or relocated the roller after the cleaning operation has been completed. In other words, the invention envisages the rapid spinning of the roller during the cleaning step and a continued spinning of the roller at the same speed such that the roller is for all intents and purposes fully dried and at the same time fluffed so that it is ready for either storage or instant reuse.

Not only does the invention have for an object the cleaning of rollers in a minimum amount of time, but the invention has for an added object such cleaning without resort to messy techniques heretofore utilized.

Another object is to provide a device that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, thereby encouraging its widespread use not only by professional painters but persons who might only paint on an infrequent basis, homeowners being included in this latter category.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cleaning device of the foregoing character which will make efiicient use of the cleaning solvent, so as to not waste the fluid. In this regard, the particular solvent will depend largely upon the type of paint, some paints requiring relatively expensive solvents and still others requiring only water. While the invention will find equal utility with respect to all types of solvents, nonetheless the more costly solvent should not be wasted and the present invention achieves this goal very effectively.

The invention has for another object the provision of v a device for cleaning paint rollers that will not be messy in use and which can be easily emptied once the roller has been cleaned and the device is to be stored for a subsequent cleaning operation.

Briefly, the invention includes a housing having an auxiliary vessel in the form of a trough mounted therein. The trough contains a longitudinally fluted roller that is rotated while the paint roller rests thereon, thereby transmitting a rotary action to the paint roller and at the same time providing a pumping action which carries the cleaning solvent upwardly to the roller. The trough is intended to contain a limited amount of solvent and when the solvent in the trough has been depleted, further spinning of the paint roller results in the fluff drying thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of my inven- 3,372,416 Patented Mar. 12, 1968 tion will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawing,

wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

, FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my device;

FIGURE 2 is an end view taken from the right in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken in the direction of line 33 in FIGURE 1 at the start of a cleaning operation;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the device after the liquid has been depleted or substantially lowered within the trough, the view picturing the action taking place during the fluff drying portion of the operation, and

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken in the direction of line 5-5 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, a conventional paint applicator has been denoted in its entirety by the reference numeral 10. The applicator 10 comprises a roller 12 having a soft cylindrical surface of lambs wool or a material simulating same. The roller 12 is journaled for free rotation on a U-shaped shank or rod 14 having an outturned end 16 thereon. A handle grip 18 is pressfitted or otherwise secured to the rod 14.

The cleaning device exemplifying the present invention has been denoted generally by the reference numeral 20. The device 20 includes a housing or tank 22. Formed in the front wall of the housing 22 is a slot 24 (FIGURES 3 and 4) for the reception of the rod 14 during the cleaning operation. In order to prevent the splashing out or escape of the cleaning solvent, a sponge rubber or sponge plastic pad 26 is applied to the marginal portions of the housing adjacent the slot 24. The housing 22 is covered during use with a lid 28 that can be suitably hinged at its rear edge as indicated by the numeral 30. A lift handle 32 extends upwardly from the lid 28 so that the lid can be conveniently raised and lowered.

Within the housing 22 is a trough 34 of relatively limited capacity With respect to that of the housing. The trough 34 has mounted therein a drive roller 36 formed with longitudinally extending ribs 38 that taper or converge to rather narrow ridges. Between the ribs are arcuate grooves 41 The configuration of the drive roller 36 can be best seen from an inspection of FIGURES 3 and 4, the cross sectional makeup demonstrating the line-like termination of the ribs and the curved shape of the intervening grooves.

The drive roller 36 is fixedly mounted on a shaft 42 that is journaled in a pair of bearings 4d, there being one bearing 46 at each end of the trough. An additional bearing 48 is at the left end of the housing 22 as can be perceived from FIGURE 5. Not only is the shaft 42 free to rotate relative the trough 34, but the trough 34 is actually suspended therefrom, a rest or tilt arm 33 having its distal end engaging the housing 22 to prevent unwanted swinging of the trough 34.

The shaft 42 is recessed at its right end as viewed in FIGURE 5, there being a set screw 50 that fixedly couples the shaft 42 to a stub shaft 52 on an electric motor 54-. The motor shaft 52 extends through the end wall of the housing 22. The electric motor 54 has a flange 56 and through the agency of several bolts 58 the motor is secured in place with respect to the housing.

FIGURE 3 shows a limited quantity of cleaning solvent 60. It will be discerned that the solvent 69 has its upper level somewhat below the top of the drive roller 36, although the precise level is not crucial. FIGURE 4 illustrates the liquid after it has been substantially depleted and this lesser amount of liquid has been desig nated by the reference numeral 60a. During use some 3 liquid is evaporated and the remainder drops to the bottom of the housing 22, being labeled 601).

Having presented the foregoing description, the manner in which my cleaning device is used for the cleaning of paint rollers should be readily apparent. With the lid 28 raised, the painter can easily place the roller 12 of the applicator onto the drive roller 36, at the same time placing the rod 14 in the slot 24. The sponge material 26 will flex closed about the portion of the rod designated 16 so as to prevent any escape of liquid via this route. This sponge material also assists in maintaining the paint roller 12 in a centrally disposed position directly on the drive roller 36.

Assuming that the desired amount of cleaning solution 60 has been placed in the trough 34, there being enough so as to at least partly immerse the drive roller 36 as clearly shown in FIGURE 3, the lid 28 can be lowered into its closed position and the device is thereby readied for the cleaning operation.

Once the motor 54 is energized, the shaft 52 is caused to rotate at a high rate of speed, thereby in turn rotating the shaft 42 on which the drive roller 36 is mounted. Owing to the contact of the paint roller 12 with the drive roller 36, the paint roller is also spun at a'high rate of speed.

Due to the presence of the ribs 38 and grooves 40 on the circumference of the drive roller 36, the grooves function as pockets or recesses which carry or pump the cleaning solvent 60 upwardly against the paint roller 12. Thus, the paint roller 12 is not only spun but it is constantly bathed in liquid from the trough 34. This results in any paint adhering to the roller 12 being dislodged and flung by centrifugal force outwardly into the housing 22.

The cleaning time can be controlled, quite obviously, by the amount of liquid placed in the trough 34. If it appears to the user that the roller 12 requires only a small amount of cleaning, then a correspondingly reduced amount of cleaning solvent will be initially placed in the trough, whereas if it looks as if a prolonged cleaning action is needed then a larger quantity of liquid will be initially poured into the trough.

After the cleaning portion of the operation has been completed, then the continued rotation of the drive roller 36 imparts a high-speed continued rotation to the paint roller 12. This causes the paint roller 12 to be spun dry, the liquid being carried off by the centrifugal action that is produced. It should be noted that no attention, adjustment, shifting, or manipulation of the applicator 10 whatsoever is needed from the user, for the drying action follows immediately the cleaning action.

As soon as the paint roller 12 hasbecome quite dry, the still continued rotation thereof provides a flufling of the relatively soft material constituting the surface of said roller 12. More specifically, the ribs 38 successively engage the nap of the lamb skin or similar material from which the roller 12 is made. It is through this rather gentle beating action that the flufling is produced, thereby imparting to the roller an appearance generally approaching that of the roller when new.

After the cleaning and drying operations have been completed, then any small quantity of cleaning solution, such as that labelled by the reference numeral 60a in FIG- URE 4, can be dumped into the larger housing 22 by merely grasping the tilt arm 33 since the trough 34 is suspended on the shaft 42. In other words, the tilt arm 33 when lifted from the position in which it appears in FIGURE 4 will cause the trough 34 to be pivoted or rotated in a counterclockwise direction about the shaft 42 with the consequence that the small amount of remaining fluid 60a can be dumped into the bottom of the housing 22 and thus added to the fluid 6012. If desired, quite obviously, the cleaning solvent can be left in the trough and an additional amount added when the paint roller is to be cleaned again. The tipping or tilting of the trough 34 is of benefit largely when the next cleaning of the roller 12 is to be made when a different'color paint has been used or if the remaining solution 60a becomes quite dirty.

In any event, the mapped surface of the paint roller 12 is rendered practically as good as new and the applicator 10 can be either used for a different colored paint or can be stored for subsequent use. The fact that the entire cycle takes only a few seconds is of importance to the painter because it eliminates a very tedious and time-consuming hand cleaning of the paint roller. The device 20 illustrative of the invention also minimizes appreciably the time over that required when utilizing other paint cleaning devices.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangements, and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A device for cleaning and drying paint rollers comprising a horizontal trough having an arcuate bottom, a longitudinally fluted drive roller journaled for rotation within said trough at a height so that the upper segmental portions of the paint roller to be cleaned is-above the top of said trough, said arcuate bottom conforming generally to the curvature of said drive roller and disposed adjacent thereto in order to contain in said trough a limited amount of cleaning fluid, and means for rotating said drive roller to cause the paint roller to spin with the consequence that the limited liquid in said trough is substantially depleted by being carried upwardly by the flutes of said drive roller to said paint roller and then flung by said paint roller over the top of said trough, whereby the paint roller is first cleaned by the upwardly carried liquid and then dried by the continued spinning of the paint roller assaid liquid is flung therefrom over the top of said trough.

2. A device for cleaning and drying paint rollers comprising a housing, a horizontal rotatable shaft mounted in said housing, a trough suspended from said shaft and disposed horizontally within said housing for containing a limited amount of cleaning fluid, a drive roller mounted on said shaft for rotation 'Within said trough and engageable with the underside of a paint roller to be cleaned, said drive roller having an imperforate irregular surface, and means for rotating said drive roller to cause the paint roller to spin with the consequence that the liquid in said trough is substantially depleted by being elevated by said imperforate irregular surface and continued spinning of said paint roller results in the drying thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 844,475 2/1907 Sague 154 2,052,766 9/1936 Haynes 15142 X 3,135,000 6/1964 Rasmussen 154 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,110,077 10/ 1955 France.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

LEON G, MAQHLIN, Assistant Examiner, 

